Thermally insulated shoe sole



Oct; 19, 1937. H. GORDON 2,096,511

THERMALLY INSULATED SHOE SOLE Filed Sept. 25, 1936 5 5 7 6" www,

Patented Oct. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT oi-FICE` 2,096,511 y THERMALLY INSULATED SHOE SOLE i Hiram Gordon, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to The Walker T. Dickerson, Company, Columbus, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 25, 1936, Serial No. 102,560

7 Claims. (Cl. 12 148) This invention relates to improvements in shoes and similar articles of footwear, the primary object thereof being to improve the sole construction of such shoes, or other articles, by incorporating therein an improved thermal insulation, whereby to enable the soles to more eectively resist'thetransmission of heat or coldv therethrough and to'increase the foot comfort of the wearers thereof. F y

Present. day shoes, Aparticularly ladies shoes, are quite strongly characterized by their extreme lightness in weight, this being a quality demanded by the majority of shoe buyers who have in'view f such factors as style, comfort and appearance.

Manufacturers, in order to meet this demand,`

have resorted to the use of soles of thin flexible construction, with the result that when such shoes' are worn 4on hot summer streets or in sub-freezing weather, there readily takes 'place the pas'- sage of heat or, cold through the soles with varying degrees of resulting foot discomfort to the shoe wearers.

Partly to obviate this condition, manufacturers of shoes are now employing ground or granulated cork, admixed with an organic binder, and disposed ini the form of thin layers in. chambers provided between the insoles and outsoles of the shoes. Cork is a well recognized thermal insulation but the addition of the binder thereto reduces its normal effectiveness in this regardand, also, when shoes containing the same are worn, the bending and flexing of the soles is apt to produce cracks, fissures or breaksrin the cork composition layers which further lesson the ability* thereof to resist heat transfer.

. In accordance with the present invention, an improved insulation for shoe soles is provided composed primarily of siliceous wool and which practice has disclosed to be superior to the ground cork compositions in its ability to resistheat flow, convenience of application to the shoe soles,

greater manufacturing economy and in its ability to permanently maintain its effective form when subjected to prolonged periods` of service in actively worn shoes.

Glass wool, particularly, is conceded to be an excellent thema! insulator and is now widely used in insulating house walls where its qualities of lightness in weight, economy and effectiveness are well recognized. y Heretofore, however, it has been largely used in capacities in which the wool,

when in use, is stationary and not subjected to forces which set up relative movement between the individual bers thereof. Diiferent problems exist, however, in adapting this high grade i curity and to prevent breakage thereof; and,

third, to provide for economical and expeditious Amanufacturing operations so that manufacturing costs will not be excessive.

Glass wool is composed of matted fibers of steam blown glass and in its normal commercial form resembles raw cotton or animal wool. To handle this material in its normal state when applying the same to shoe sole construction would be dimcult o r impossible, particularly in the matterof 'securing a compact layer thereof of uniform thickness in the receiving chamber formed between the insole and outsole ofla shoe.

I have solved, these and related difculties by treating the glass wool, prior to its application to the shoe, with a volatile plasticizer or binder, consisting preferably of a fluid compound of clear rubber and a low-boiling hydrocarbon oil, such as naphtha or benzol, whereby to reduce the Wool to a plastic, 'workable condition at the time it is to be'insertcd in the receiving space therefor of a shoe sole. The plastic state of the wool 30 permits the same to be spread uniformly with a knife or other tool over the full area of said space and to the required depth thereof from the heel to the toe of the shoe, lling said space compactly and Without likelihood of accidental displacement. The wool is then permitted to dry by exposure to the air, or by artificial accelera.- tion, the evaporation of the readily volatilizable compounds of the binder taking place. After such drying, the outsole of a shoe is secured by any standard process to the insole and upper, thereby confining the insulation in place and precluding dislodgment thereof.

Due to the fibrous nature of the glass wool, the

same maynot only serve as an insulator but to insole and outsole which further adds to the comfort of the wearer of a shoe made in accordance with the present invention. Since the glass wool possesses relatively'long fibers, which .are

interlaced or mattedwhen disposed in a' shoe sole, the latter may be flexed or bent as will occur with normal Wear thereof, without detri' mentally affecting the Wool by causing the fibers to separate.

45 a large extent as a cushion layerbetween the For a further understanding of the invention,

reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the bottom of a shoe, prior to the attachment of the outsole thereof, and disclosing the operation of applying glass wool to the receiving chamber therefor provided in the insole of a shoe;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the insole after the chamber formed'therein'has been completely filled with the glass Wool, and illustrating the condition of the shoe during the operation of drying the wool; l

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the shoe with the outsole attached; i

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view take through 'the completed shoe sole. n

In carrying out the present invention, a shoe, as indicated at l, in course of manufacture, is provided with an upper 2 and an insole 3, the shoe being preferably mounted on a last 4. Stitched to the sole margins of the' upper, and the insole is a welt strip 5 which extends from the toe to the heel regions of a shoe in the ordinary manner. The sole margins of the upper 2 and the thickness! of the applied welt stripv 5 produce in the sole region of a shoe a relatively thin flat chamber 6 which is adapted for the reception of the thermal insulation 1 used in carrying out the 'present invention. This insulation is applied .to the shoe prior to the attachmentv of the outsole 8 thereof, to the uppercarried parts of ashoe and while the latter is retained 'in a taut condition on the last 4.

The improved thermal insulation which I employ consists of siliceous wools, such as mineral wool or glass wool, the latter being preferred. In its normal dry commercial state, glass wool cannot be handled to provide for its proper and uniform insertion in the shallow recess or pocket provided therefor in the shoe sole, as indicated at 6 in the drawing. Therefore, in order to enable the material to be used in a practical and economical manner, I reduce the same toa plastic workable state by applying thereto a mixture composed of a low-boilinghydrocarbon oil, such as naphtha or benzol and a clear rubber adhesive so that when this volatile binder is thoroughly admixed with the glass wool, the latter assumes the form of a plastic mass. This enables the same to be applied to the back of a knife, or other type o f blade and, as'shown in Fig. 1,'deposited in the pocket or chamber 6, to smoothly and uniformly ll the latter throughout the full area thereof, in

g other words, from the heel to the toe of the shoe.

Due to its plastic form, the glass wool may be closely compacted within the pocket or chamber 0 with uniform thickness.

Following its -application to the shoe, the insulation is air dried, preferably by natural or artiflcially induced air circulation, and in this connection, the air may or may not be heated, depending upon the speed of the manufacturing operations. Usually, after lthe insertion of the glass wool into the shoe, the latter is placed on a rack and in normal manufacturing operations, the time required to transfer a rack of such shoes from one department of shoe manufacture to another affords sufficient time for the evaporation of the volatile constituents of the binder.

outsole 8` is attached to the upper-carried portions of the shoe by any approved'operation, such as stitching, cementing or the like, the attachment of the outsole .thus closing'the pocket or chamber 6 on its open side' to permanently confine the glass wool in its applied andoperating position within the shoe sole.

A shoe manufactured in accordance with the .present invention may be readily made so as to be light in weight and very'ilexible or pliable in the sole region thereof.` Glass wool is a very light weight insulator so that its addition to the shoe does not add preceptibly to the weight thereof. In shoes which have used llers of ground cork,l the substitution offglass wool will lighten the shoe.

sametends to produce. a felt-like cushion within Vthe bottom of a shoe which, in addition to its value n By reason of the long fibers of the glass wool, the

gaged in outdoor occupations, such as members of municipal police departments, sales persons and others, to marked advantage in the matter of diminishing foot discomfort. f

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe comprising inner and outer soles having a chamber formed between the same extending from the heel to the toe of a shoe, and a heat insulator in the form of a siliceous wool disposed within said chamber to substantially completely flll the same.

2. In a shoe, an insole and an outsole, and a layer of glass wool confined between said insole and outsole and permanently retained thereby.

. 3; In a shoe, an insole andJ an outsole, there being a thin chamber formed between said insole and outsole and extending from the toe to the heel regions of said shoe, and a layer of glass wool confined between said insole and outsole and substantially completely filling said chamber.

4. In the manufacture of shoes, the step which comprises applying a layer of glasswool over the insole of a shoe prio'r tothe'sec'uring of an outlsole thereto. s

5. In the manufacture of shoes, the step. which comprises covering the bottom of the insole of a shoe with a plastic mass of glass wool.

6. 'I'he method of manufacturing shoes which comprises covering the insole of a shoefwlth a plastic layer of glass wool in which a volatile binder is incorporated, eifectingthe evaporation of said binder and the'drying of the glass wool,

boiling hydrocarbon oil, substantially'evaporating the readily volatilizable constituents 7off the binder by air drying the same, and then securing an outsole to the Iinsole to confine said glassA wool there between.

- HIRAM GORDON. 

